The present invention relates to an electrically integrated scooter with a dual suspension and a stowage mechanism, more particularly, an electric scooter is disclosed having batteries concealed below the standing platform in a multipurpose battery pan, an anti-lock brake, a dual suspension, a stow and carry feature, integrated brake and throttle control, and an anti-theft key.
Electric scooters are known in the art. One particular example is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,452 entitled Electric Scooter and assigned to the assignee herein. Although electric scooters are known, none have or suggest the improved electronic features of the present invention such as batteries concealed below the standing platform in a multipurpose battery pan, an anti-lock brake, a dual suspension, a stow and carry feature, integrated electronics including brake control, throttle control, safety measures and theft protection.
Also, scooters for supporting a standing rider have utilized both pneumatic and non-pneumatic tires. The non-pneumatic tires are typically solid rubber and thus have the advantage of being hard and durable which results in tires that have a very long life, do not get flats and can have friction brakes applied directly to the tire side wall. Also, non-pneumatic tires can be made with a small diameter which allows for compact design and a large standing platform. Unfortunately, due to the hardness of the tire, non-pneumatic tires have a very rough ride. For this reason, many scooters utilize pneumatic tires, which provide a much smoother ride due to the air inside the tire. However, pneumatic tires must have a larger diameter than non-pneumatic tires in order to allow inflation and flexibility of the tire. Thus, standing scooters constructed with pneumatic tires are not as compact and have smaller standing platforms than their non-pneumatic counterparts. The present invention provides a solution to this problem that provides the benefits of non-pneumatic tires without the known drawbacks.
The present invention is an electric scooter having batteries concealed below the standing platform in a multipurpose battery pan, an anti-lock brake, a dual suspension, a stow and carry feature, integrated electronics including brake control, throttle control, safety measures and theft protection.
An object of the present invention is to provide a dual suspension scooter.
Another object of the to provide a multi-feature electric scooter where the structures which provide each function are complimentary and do not interfere with each other.
A further object of the invention is to provide a cost effective scooter with a variety of novel features.
It is also an object of the invention to provide an electric scooter with safety features for preventing unwanted or untimely acceleration of the scooter.
Another object of the to provide an electric scooter that is reliable and simple in construction.
Also, an object of the invention is to provide a scooter that is readily and easy stored in a portable manner.
Additionally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a scooter that has the benefits of non-pneumatic tires without the known drawbacks.
The present invention is an electric scooter having batteries concealed below the standing platform in a multipurpose battery pan, an anti-lock brake, a dual suspension, a stow and carry feature, integrated electronics including brake control, throttle control, safety measures and theft protection.
The integrated electronic control includes a throttle lever, wherein movement of the throttle lever is indicative of desired acceleration of the electric scooter; a brake lever; a brake sensor proximate to the brake lever, wherein the brake sensor senses the position of the brake lever; a throttle control circuit coupled between the throttle lever and the electric motor and coupled to the brake sensor, wherein the throttle control circuit controls the acceleration of the electric scooter by the electric motor based upon movement of the throttle lever and is disabled when the brake sensor senses that the brake lever is in a braking position; and an electronic brake control coupled between the brake sensor and the motor, wherein the electronic brake control causes the electric motor to act as an electric brake when the brake sensor senses that the brake lever is in a braking position.
The portable and stowable aspect of the scooter includes a chassis; a jointed steering column rotatably mounted on the front end of the chassis, where the jointed steering column folds from an upright in use position to a folded stowed position; a handle bar mounted at one end of the steering column; a front wheel rotatably mounted on another end of the steering column; a rear wheel rotatably mounted on the rear end of the scooter chassis; and a stowage hook mounted on the motor where the handlebar engages the stowage hook when the jointed steering column is in the folded stowed position.
The dual suspension scooter includes a chassis; a steering column; a front wheel rotatably mounted on a front axle assembly; a rear wheel rotatably mounted on a rear axle assembly; a front cantilevered suspension mechanism mounted between the steering column and the front axle assembly; and a rear cantilevered suspension mechanism mounted between the rear end of the chassis and the rear axle assembly.
Alternately, a fuel cell may be mounted on the chassis wherein the fuel cell provides an electric charge for accelerating the electric motor and a platform for supporting the rider of the scooter.
The present invention has other objects and advantages which are set forth in the description of the Description of the Preferred Embodiments. The features and advantages described in the specification, however, are not all inclusive, and particularly, many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the drawings, specification, and claims herein.